RaymondO Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Picking up my first oilhead next week!! 05 R1200RT ! Would like to put running lights on her and have seen both fork mounted and just under the oil cooler air intake----I like the ones concealed under there better but was wondering how others have liked one vs the other location.....PIAA?? other brands??? thanks for advise----really look forward to my new ride....Last two were 1978 R80/7 and 1978 R100/7--- Ray in VA Link to comment
jjg3 Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Welcome Ray in VA... and congrats on the new bike! I have PIAA 1100X's on my R11RT. They're small and will fit almost anywhere. Put out enough light to see where you're going and really bright. One day a guy coming the other way turned and followed me home just to ask what kind of lights they were because they were so bright (they were both working at the time), he wanted to get some for his HD. Mine are wired to the turn signal canceler, a 2-sec push will turn them on-off. So that's the good, the bad is I think they cost too much and not terribly robust (in my experience). Good grief, they're just lights. A set is going on Amazon for about $145. Bulbs go for around 25-30 each and I've gone through 3 bulbs in as many years. That may not be much for some, but I haven't needed any other bulb on the bike in that time. Mounted below oil cooler (one is out, DOH!), but bright enough to get your attention, headlamp is on low. Link to comment
pokorskij Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 I have a 2005 RT and have placed the running lights on the head guards as I believe the greater the spread of the lights the better, but that is just me. I have some LED from Twisted Throttle and when I put them on I could tell all the drivers around me noticed by the second and third looks. The guys I ride with say they can see me a mile back in their mirrors with the LED lights. Again pricy, but should last a long time, so far so good. Link to comment
Dundee387 Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Clearwater lights, lower fork bracket kit for ur bike. They are sleek, and use little power. I personally don't like the under the cooler mounting of lights.. I would send a pic but system is giving me trouble.. Link to comment
terryofperry Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Motolights work well for me. Terry Link to comment
JR356 Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Some folks like these: http://www.lights.skenedesign.com/ Photon Blasters in front and p3's in rear really increase your visibility to the cagers! JR356 Link to comment
pokorskij Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Here is the link to the LED light kit from Twisted Throttle: http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/5224 No affiliation, just happy customer with a quality product. If you check the website there are mounting options available. Lights are very bright very visible even in the day, and as I stated before they get drivers attention. The reason I installed them. Link to comment
longbch Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Raymond, you'll probably get as many answers as there are running lights. But, if you don't ride after dark, the Skene Photon Blasters in front and the P3 lights in back are good. I've been using them for about eight months on my RT, and cars seem to notice me more with them. When a car is approaching from behind at a stop light, I squeeze the brakes a couple of times to flash the taillights, and most cars stop a little further away from me. I have the P3 taillights set for four flashes and then a steady light. If you've taken a safety course in the past year or so, they'll give you a $20 rebate on each. All mounting hardware and connectors were supplied, and the Posi-tap connectors tap into existing wires. I'm happy with the Photon Blasters and P3 lights so far. Skene has come out with controllers that will turn the RT's turn signals on all the time and blink them when the turn signal is activated. If the turn signals are LED, then the controller will flicker them just like the Photon Blasters. My turn signals are not LEDs, and I'm not sure how the controller would affect bulb life, but I'm thinking about getting one for the front signals. http://www.lights.skenedesign.com/ Link to comment
markgoodrich Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Look at a train engine. Three lights these days. I understand it's for better visibility OF THE TRAIN, not for the engineer. That "triangle" is supposed to be more attention-catching. I have MotoLights mounted to the brake calipers. I use 55W yellow bulbs. My riding buds say they're really bright. One of my buds uses those new LED lights which are orange. They're real visible, and real expensive. Another has PIAAs, and they're also real bright. I don't think any of these actually improve the rider's down-the-road visibility. The Iron Butters use driving lights which DO light up the road for the rider.... Link to comment
EddyQ Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Ray, My optinion is if you look like a car, you will get noticed. To do that, you need wide spaced lights. Under the mirrors are best. I currently have Motolights and they are a bit lower and not as wide spaced. But they help a lot regarding being noticed. I run standard MR16 35W bulbs (unlike PIAA's, cost $3 per bulb link ) and since '07 haven't lost a bulb. There are now LED options for even greater bulb life. As for how much light hits the road. Not much. But the Motolights do cast light up close to the bike and soften the main beam pattern. I find they help a little with tight low speed twisties. Link to comment
Dundee387 Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Got it to work....finally.. Clearwater LED's. I like them! Link to comment
blainem Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 I'm seriously thinking of adding the Glendas on my 2010 R1200RT. They look easy enough to install, but do you have any pictures of your install? Where did you install the dimmer? Any issues? Link to comment
Dundee387 Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 I did not install them myself, I don't like playing with electrics.. They were professionally installed at Rocketmoto in New Hampshire. The volume control is located on top of my clutch fluid res., but you can put it anywhere. You won't be disappointed. Link to comment
Indy Dave Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Picking up my first oilhead next week!! 05 R1200RT ! Would like to put running lights on her and have seen both fork mounted and just under the oil cooler air intake----I like the ones concealed under there better but was wondering how others have liked one vs the other location.....PIAA?? other brands??? thanks for advise----really look forward to my new ride....Last two were 1978 R80/7 and 1978 R100/7--- Ray in VA Welcome to the board. Are you wanting to be seen or to see better, or both? Not all lights are equal, so considering the function is important to making your decision. Link to comment
RTinNC Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 +1 on Moto-lights! Have had them on all my bikes for nearly 10 years now and really like them. Well made (in the USA I believe) mount up REAL slick on the calipers ... almost look factory and the support by the company is excellent. Link to comment
LPOL Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 Has anyone mounted PIAA Cross Country HID's on their RT? Is there enough space near the oil cooler for them? Have them on my GS and satisfied with them. Just want to see if they'd fit on my NEW (to me) 06 RT. Thanks. Link to comment
Shaun09 Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 @LPOL, I mounted a set of the PIAA Cross Country HIDs on PIAA brackets (made by EZ-Mount) under the oil cooler on a 09 R1200RT. Unfortunately, they made contact with the fender under braking and particularly when making sharp turns into driveways. PIAA doesn't recommend that setup for obvious reasons. I remounted the HIDs on RTP siren brackets under the mirrors with a small piece of powder-coated aluminum angle as an adapter. The new mounts are VERY solid and they get the lights up a little higher. Not cheap though. PIAA is a great company to work with as they sort out the problems with the early HIDs. Link to comment
racer7 Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 been using the PIAA/TrailTEchs for a couple years on ezy's under the cooler on an 08RT. Mine don't hit while riding though it appears I might be able to hit them if I did something to bottom the suspension at full lock- not very likely... Do not recommend the lights- they have a list of problems as long as my arm. Some - bad ballasts initially, 3 rd bulb design now in production due to 2 different types of failures with earlier types, bulbs not waterproof because they are INDOOR bulb housings simply fitted with an HID capsule at back. They're also not very bright for an HID of that power, a function of the crappy indoor reflectors. I also run a set of Hella FF50s with 65W H-7 Osrams that blow away the the PIAA/TrailTechs for usable light. The latter are on BMR mounts under the mirrors. Link to comment
Turf man Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Ray, I'm in the process of installing PIAA, yellow, 55W on the RT's fork legs. I like the triangle idea. I'm constructing my own brackets. Greg Link to comment
BerndM Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Got it to work....finally.. Clearwater LED's. I like them! My bike had the Motolights already mounted in what appears to be the same location as your LEDs. Other than the fact that my Motos are more of a yellowish Halogen color, I'd have to say mine are AT LEAST as bright as the LEDs. Having said that though, I sure am happy I wasn't the one who had to cough up over $600 bucks for them. Ridiculous pricing for a couple of halogen lights. Your LEDs make MUCH more monetary sense and seem VERY noticible. Looks good to me! Regards Bernd Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.